11/27/15

A brief word about this gift guide: Some of these
items are things I can honestly recommend, some are things that I honestly want
for myself, one is something that I've written, and one is a Tesla.

1. This new line of clothing from textile designers Jen
Garrido and Lena Corwin is exactly what I want to wear everyday and
exactly how I want to dress Teddy.

2. One can never have enough good-looking baskets. I would love a couple of these for
the new baby's room.

3. Heidi Swanson's cookbooks are very calming for me. And
while I sometimes find her recipes a bit too healthy, I feel like she
has a weakness for good bread and I like that a lot. There are two bread
recipes in particular in here that I want to make: one from Morocco called beghrir
and one from India called paratha.

4. I've been wanting to read this book ever since it came
out last year. Here's what Rachel Cusk (whose book OutlineI really enjoyed)
said about it: "...its deeper purpose is to define the artist's
relationship to truth and to demonstrate how, from within the correctness of
the artistic process, life can be meaningfully understood.”

5. I was already super into Glen Hansard's latest album, Didn't He Ramble, and then Matt scored us free
tickets to see him live at the Disney Concert Hall, and now I'm a mega fan. If
you're not familiar with his music, let me describe him for you: he's part Van
Morrison and part Bruce Springsteen with just a touch of Leonard Cohen. For
real!

6. At first, I found this tome intimidating. Am I really that interested in Nordic cooking? But
it turns out: I am! Even the recipes that call for seal or reindeer meat (that
I know I'll never make) are intriguing. I think a lot of this is because,
despite its immensity, it's still written personally, specifically from Magnus
Nilsson's point of view, which makes it much more accessible.

7. If you have a kid or were a kid, you’re probably familiar
with the books of Richard Scarry. But are you familiar with this particular one:
Cars and Trucks and Things That Go?
Teddy’s hand-me-down copy is falling apart, but he doesn’t care. There’s this
character called Goldbug who is hiding (or possibly just very small) on each
page and he loved finding him and pointing him out. And now that he knows where
Goldbug is without even thinking, he loves pointing out all the other cool
things, e.g., a bananamobile, pumpkin car, bug bus, alligator car, etc.

8. Coffee! When I
worked at Heath Ceramics, we got ten or twelve bags of Blue Bottle shipped to
us weekly—just after the beans had been roasted. Opening up that box and
inhaling was always a highlight of my day.

9. I checked this book out from the library earlier this year and found myself upset that I couldn't take to it with a pen and start marking it up. Meghan Daum writes bravely and honestly about many topics, including her relationship with her dying
mother and also her decision not to have kids.

10. Josh Ritter’s new album! The problem with this digital age is that I rarely listen to
a full album anymore. Lamenting this fact, I bought this CD—a physical, actual
CD—and have thoroughly enjoyed driving around town playing it loud, like a
teenager in the late nineties.

11. Just like last
year, I’m going to make a giant batch of pizzelle to give as gifts. I know my
mom would like a box and think that everyone at Teddy’s daycare might too.

12. I’ve been a fan
of Kate Christensen’s fiction for a long time. I’m reading her first food
memoir Blue Plate Special now, and would love to follow it up with her
follow-up, How to Cook a Moose.

13. Who doesn’t
love playing memory? Especially around the holidays? OK, I know a lot of
people. (Many of our family members won’t play with Matt and me at all.) But
Matt and I love it. We already have the Charley Harper version but I think we could use
another board to mix it up.

14. As long as I
make gift guides, I can guarantee you that this book will be on it.

16. This brings us
to Matt’s pick! In past gift guides Matt has added things like a jar of pickles
and an Opinel pocket knife. This year, it’s a Tesla Model S! I love Matt for
many reasons but one is that ever since Teddy was born (and we put his carseat
in our newer, safer car), Matt’s been driving around my ever-so-slightly-banged-up,
clunky, eleven-year-old Scion Xa without complaint. (Note: we cannot afford a
Tesla, but hey if Tesla wanted to send us a car, we would be happy to shoot a
bunch of cooking videos during which we have to constantly drive to the store
to pick up one more ingredient.)

17. These are the ideal shoe for a pregnant person living in Southern California in winter.

The above was set out, however, before my big culinary change of heart, as documented here. And while we're on the subject of pivotal moments... there have been a few over the (6) years, like this one and this one and, of course, this one AND now this one!